Abacus’ defamation suit against Coventry clears motion to dismiss
A federal judge has denied Coventry First and chairman Alan Buerger’s motion to dismiss Abacus Global Management’s defamation suit, letting the case proceed to discovery and depositions of Coventry executives, including Buerger.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ruled June 26 that Abacus plausibly alleged defamation and anticompetitive conduct, and referenced what it called a “scheme to destroy Abacus.” Abacus filed the suit in July 2025, alleging Coventry and Buerger ran a years-long campaign to spread false statements about the company to regulators, auditors, analysts, customers, investors, and the public.
At the center of the dispute is Lapetus Solutions, a Charlotte-based life expectancy provider that used AI to estimate health and longevity. Coventry’s campaign targeted Abacus’s use of Lapetus, claiming the firm issued systematically short life expectancy estimates that let Abacus overvalue the policies on its books. Abacus countered that Lapetus was one of six providers it used for initial policy pricing and played no role in valuing its balance sheet, which it marks at fair value. Abacus held a $1 million convertible note in Lapetus, and CEO Jay Jackson previously sat on its board.
Lapetus Solutions shut down all operations effective August 31, 2025. Coventry leaned on that closure in its motion to dismiss, arguing it validated concerns about Abacus’s reliance on the provider.
Coventry has framed the suit as an attack on protected speech. In moving to dismiss, the company argued Abacus was trying to silence “constitutionally protected debate” about life expectancy estimates and industry practices. Buerger has called the lawsuit “a transparent ploy designed to delay accountability and deflect attention from serious problems of Abacus’s own making,” and maintains that Lapetus systematically underestimated life expectancies in a way that threatens investor returns. Coventry, which says it has paid policyholders more than $6 billion over two decades, has not yet responded publicly to the June 26 ruling.
Much of Abacus’s case centers on Buerger himself. According to the complaint, Buerger called Abacus his “pet project” and claimed to “know every public document” the company has filed — assertions Abacus uses against him, arguing he knowingly mischaracterized disclosures he professed to have read closely.
Abacus Global Management , which specializes in longevity-based assets and life settlements, is seeking “hundreds of millions” in economic and punitive damages tied to alleged harm to its reputation, customer relationships, and investor base.
